And thus begins the noble sacrifice portion of the drama. At least the dramatic tension is certainly higher when the baddies gain some traction—it’s been a while since we’ve felt some real conflict around here other than broken hearts, and this episode marks a turn in upping the stakes. (At least death and torture are inarguably scary, as opposed to the gasp-he-might-sleep-with-his-wife storyline.) Ratings hit another high at 38.4% today.

EPISODE 13 RECAP

Hwon flips Bo-kyung on her back, ready to bed her angrily out of duty. ‘Cause nothing says romance like royal heir-making on Grandma’s orders.

Bo-kyung cries a tear, saying that she’s a woman too. How long will he keep his heart filled with the memories of a dead woman?

But elsewhere in the palace, two forces are at work. Nok-young and the others in Seongsucheong pray for the consummation to go well, while the other shaman that Nok-young confides in casts a spell to disrupt it.

Suddenly Hwon clutches his heart and gasps for air. Bo-kyung practically rolls her eyes, asking if he’s going to play this ol’ game again and set everything back to zero. But he’s not playing, and loses consciousness, right on top of her.

She screams for help. Looks like you’ll have to wait another supernatural cycle to get your man.

Meanwhile Yang-myung asks Wol if she won’t come with him, and she says that a shaman cannot love because, “We are simply bowls to be filled with the spirit of the gods, and nothing else can fill that bowl.”

But she thanks him sincerely for treating her like a person, for wanting to take her away from all this. Wol: “But I can’t give you a false heart, out of gratitude.” Oof. It hurts, but it’s the truth he needs to hear.

That shaman stuff doesn’t make any sense to Yang-myung, who just sees people as people, and asks, “Is there no one who can move your heart?” Her gaze shifts, but she doesn’t answer.

Jan-shil comes running up to her to say that the king has collapsed and they’re calling for her. She runs off in an instant, leaving Yang-myung to muse that she shouldn’t have given herself away so easily. Man, little bro beats you even when he’s unconscious.

The king’s physician tends to him, everyone in worried fits and Hyung-sun in tears. Wol rushes in and sits by his bedside, and then instantly, his condition changes and he gets better. The doctor gapes at the sudden recovery. Well if they didn’t believe in Wol’s powers before, this pretty much settles it.

She sits by all night, crying and worrying. The gong sounds and it’s time for her to go, but suddenly Hwon grabs her hand and opens his eyes. She smiles in relief and he asks if she was worried, “That I would be with another woman?”

She says she has no right to feel anything about that, and he smiles, asking her to stay till morning.

The Euigeumbu investigates what happened to the king—is the consummation date to blame, or did his physician miss something? But they sensed a new spiritual energy at work last night, and determine that someone was purposely attacking the king.

Queens Mother and Grandmother rest assured now that the king’s condition has stabilized, and go to see Bo-kyung. She apologizes profusely to them, saying that it’s all her fault. They tell her there’s no way she could be at fault for this, but she says there’s something she didn’t tell them…

Trembling, she says that she had a bad dream the night before last—a woman dressed in white came to her in her sleep and said that the king’s bedside would be hers to protect from now on, and that Bo-kyung would never bear his heir.

Oooh, nice move. I find it entertaining that everyone in this world is so superstitious, and that for the smart characters, this is an advantage—they use it to get what they want.

She tells them everything—the rumors that the king has shown affection for this shaman, the fact that he knows of her presence (despite her duty to slip in and out in the night without his knowledge). They reel from the shock, and Bo-kyung smiles to herself.

I like that she’s stepping her game up. Bo-kyung was mostly ineffectual before, but now her sharper instincts are showing, and she’s starting to be a bigger obstacle. Bad for the heroes, good for the story.

Meanwhile the council of evil meets to discuss what they should do with this delightful new development. If the king acknowledges that he kept a shaman by his bedside every night knowingly, he’s admitting to an unapproved union.

And even if he denies it, they’ve decided that Wol will carry the blame for using her mystical powers to keep the king from bedding the queen. Well, it does make for a salacious tale. Basically it’s a win-win for the baddies, who know how to manipulate the power of public opinion. They gleefully debate how to begin their smear campaign.

Wol overhears some of the other shaman discussing theories on why the king always falls ill whenever he’s with the queen. One thinks that he’s faking it because he can’t forget his first love.

The other thinks that’s ridiculous—it’s been eight years. Yeah, I’m not really that sold on it either, but whadduya gonna do? She says the other rumor must be true: that the ghost of the dead princess bride who lives in the Silver Moon Building haunts the palace and keeps the king from being with anyone else.

I like that theory. Untrue of course, since she’s standing right there, but it’s more poetic. Er, poetically vengeful, but yunno… she had some stuff to feel revengey over, if you’ll recall. Wol thinks back to Hwon’s reaction to that building, and her own.

Kyu-tae (the Sungkyunkwan-scholar-turned-cop) is on the case that Hwon secretly assigned him, and heads to question the apothecary who gave Minister Heo medicine for his daughter eight years ago (though not the fatal dose he’s looking for).

The old man recalls being called after Yeon-woo’s death to find her parents clutching her for hours, and remembers how odd it was that her body was still so warm after she’d been dead for a while.

Yeon-woo’s mother arrives soon afterwards with Princess Min-hwa in tow, to order some medicine to help her bear a child. Min-hwa adorably whispers to the old man that she’d also like something for her husband as well, wink-wink. She’s so cute.

Mom stops to stare wistfully at some old markings in a pillar, recalling that she used to bring Yeon-woo here when she was little, and they’d mark her height. “I wonder how tall she’d be now, if she were still alive…”

Min-hwa watches uncomfortably, carrying the guilt of Yeon-woo’s death in secret. The old man notes that a man was just here, asking about Yeon-woo. He had claimed he was a distant relative, which surprises Mom.

Suddenly there’s a call from outside—the Euigeumbu is here to arrest her. And it’s Kyu-tae who leads the charge. Seol and Jan-shil discover her as she’s led away in red ropes like a criminal.

Nok-young goes to see the shaman who cast the spell, and argues that Wol’s connection to the king was to be severed. He’s firmly in the other camp though—he argues that the place by the king’s side is Wol’s, and that it’s a union that must be protected.

Nok-young says they crossed the point of no return when she first made the deal to save Yeon-woo’s life. But the man argues that it was an act to save her, and that everything must be given a chance to return to its rightful place.

He says it’s not too late to put things back, but Nok-young digs her heels in and recites that age-old nonsense that paves the path to evil: that she’s come too far to turn back now. WHY IS THAT EVER A REASON FOR ANYTHING?

Wol gets interrogated about her whereabouts the evening of the attack, and when asked if there’s someone who can vouch for her alibi, she remembers Yang-myung, but says she was alone, of course, to protect him.

Minister Yoon charges in to question her himself. She insists she didn’t cast the spell, but he says she misunderstands him: “Someone must pay for that crime. Whoever that might be.”

He says that she will undergo unthinkable torture and have every bone in her body broken to pieces. But depending on her answer, he can change that and let her walk out of here on her own two legs.

She asks what it is he wants. He lays out the charge: that she had a secret affair with the king, and that to disrupt his consummation with the queen, she cast that spell to harm him. She denies it fervently.

Yoon: “That’s not the correct answer.”

The deal is basically this: if she acknowledges it as truth, she gets to walk out with her life, and if not, she pays the price in torture and death. She quakes in fear.

Seol paces outside, waiting for a chance to see Wol, and Nok-young joins her. They quickly hide when they see Minister Yoon walk out. He pauses outside, wondering where he’s seen Wol before, because her face feels familiar.

Nok-young finally gets inside to visit Wol in her jail cell, and the first thing she asks is if the king is okay. Nok-young chides her—her life is at stake and THAT’s what she’s worried about? The king’s health?

Nok-young asks if she doesn’t understand the serious charges against her. But Wol knows exactly how serious they are, and also how little it matters whether or not she’s guilty of them. She knows now how convenient and disposable a shaman is, to use as a political scapegoat.

She says there’s no way out for her now, and begs Nok-young to help her figure out how to save the king—what can she do to keep him from falling into their trap? Nok-young calls her crazy for planning to admit to the crime just to save him, and reminds her that her sacrifice will scar him just as well.

Wol cries to think how much he’d suffer and blame himself, for not being able to protect her, because she is one of his people. Yeah, that and he’s in love with you, but whatever, let’s go with a king’s love for his people.

Nok-young shares the same exasperation I feel, because for crying out loud, You’re facing death and torture and many many broken bones! You’re worried about the king’s FEELINGS? Someone knock her upside the head, please.

Soon enough, word spreads and Hwon hears of her capture and scheduled sentencing.

Yang-myung does what he always does after a broken heart, and packs for another trip. He takes one step out the door when Jan-shil comes running up to ask for his help. She pleads with him to help just this once, but he turns away, saying that Wol doesn’t concern him anymore. Well you sure picked a fine time to get over it, didn’t you?

Wol gets dragged out and tied to the chair for her sentencing, and Minister Yoon keeps wondering to himself where he’s seen her before. His associate remembers her from the street the other day, and that jogs his memory—he saw her run past him with the king. He smiles.

But before they can begin, Hwon bursts in, demanding to know what they’re doing without his orders. Wol turns away and hides her face from him, and he trembles with anger to see her bound like that, feet cut up and bruised.

But of course he finds that they’re just salivating in wait for him to do something about it. Minister Yoon practically taunts him to his face. Back in his chamber he roars in rage, and then gets up to go back there and save her anyway…

Hyung-sun stops him with a reminder of who he is. He is the king of the people, and if he tries to save her, then the people lose a king. He says that Wol is a sacrifice he has to make—”You must lose one to save the rest.”

Hyung-sun reminds him that Wol is smart (yeah I’m not sold on that either, judging from her recent actions), and that he should trust her to save herself.

Wol screams in pain as they torture her, and everyone winces except for Minister Yoon, who presides as if he’s watching a soccer match. He finally raises his hand for them to stop and asks why she did it.

She grits her teeth and declares that no matter how many times he asks, the answer will always be the same: she did not commit this crime.

He approaches her and mutters under his breath that he gave her a way out, but she’s not taking it. Oh well, then he’ll just have to torture her until she complies. And they begin again.

Nok-young begs the queen dowager to let Wol go, since she doesn’t even possess the kind of power it takes to cast a spell of that magnitude. But Grandma’s more than suspicious of Nok-young now, since she’s heard that Hwon has known of Wol’s presence for some time.

She accuses Nok-young of trying to use Wol to seduce the king and gain political favor. That just gets Nok-young fired up, asking if she has such little faith in her, how she trusted her to kill the princess bride eight years ago.

The veiled threat isn’t lost on Grandma. Nok-young spells it out for her, since she points out that she has nothing to lose—what if she just wanted to kill the king? How about that? Or better yet, what if she felt like telling the king about what really happened eight years ago? Grandma’s face goes white.

Hwon comes to see her, cutting the conversation short. He surprises Grandma by bowing to her, and asking for her help. She asks if it’s true then that he’s fallen in love with a shaman, and he smiles and says he’s man, is he not?

He admits that he was attracted to her, but that it was nothing serious. He’s mindful enough of his position to throw it away for a lowly shaman. He smiles and appeals to Grandma’s vanity, saying that she’s the only one who has the freedom and the power to intervene.

He thinks to himself that if one is to be sacrificed to save the rest, then he’ll give up himself to save her. Of course you are. Le sigh. Although your current tactic (if it works) is sly enough not to throw yourself completely to the wolves.

Minister Yoon continues relentlessly with the torture, and asks Wol for the millionth time what she was doing the night in question. Suddenly Yang-myung bursts through the gate to declare that she was with him.

That throws a wrench in Yoon’s plan, and he asks Yang-myung quietly why he’s throwing himself into suspicion. (Admitting that he was at Seongsucheong that night means he’s a suspect, and of course, next in line to the throne is the highest motive there is in threatening the king’s life.)

Yang-myung doesn’t budge, and says, duh, what other reason is there for a man and a woman to meet secretly in the night? See, I think this plan could work… but then Wol cuts in to say that she asked him there, to beg him to take her away.

Okay, what now? Let’s everybody jump on the freaking merry-go-round of noble idiocy. Can’t we at least let one person go at a time without piling up on top of each other? You’re getting in each other’s idiot paths!

So to try and keep Yang-myung out of the crosshairs, Wol says that he’s just someone who’s saved her life before, and that she called him there and pleaded with him to take her away from this life. She’s essentially taking the fall for seducing him.

Yang-myung says in any case, they were together that night, so doesn’t that prove what he wants to know? Just then, Minister Yoon gets a message from the queen dowager to halt the interrogation.

He goes to see her and asks what she’s doing, but she says that they’ve gotten what they wanted from this—to show the king who’s boss. Besides which, Wol’s sudden new alibi provides them with something even better—a way to get rid of Yang-myung once and for all. They chuckle in evil glee.

Yang-myung comes to see Wol in jail, and tells her reverse her statement—that he seduced her and not the other way around. That clears her of everything and he says he’ll deal with the fallout. I’m not quite sure how this works out as a solution, because basically they’re just splitting hairs at this point.

Regardless, she refuses. He says she did a good job of lying earlier, so what’s another? If she’s trying to protect him… but she cuts in to say harshly that she didn’t do that to protect him; she did it to save herself. Well that’s just a load of crap.

They both lie through their teeth at each other, all I’m totally not doing this for you! even though it’s absurd because there’s no one else in the equation.

Alone, she says to herself that she’s sorry for the heartache she might’ve caused, but this is the only way to sever ties to both Hwon and Yang-myung and keep them from harm. She asks them not to forgive her.

Hwon hears of his brother’s intervention, which is the first time he finds out that Wol and Yang-myung even know each other. He sees from Woon’s expression that it’s not news to him.

Yang-myung comes to see him and the air is tense between the brothers. Hwon says he heard about the witness testimony he gave today, and muses that it’s unlike him, to stick his neck out for some shaman.

Yang-myung: “Then you don’t know me very well. Unlike Your Highness, to gain one that’s precious, I am willing to give up the rest.” Hwon: “Are you saying that because of my greed to protect all, I don’t know how precious the one is?”

Yang-myung asks him point-blank for Wol, declaring that he’s willing to give up everything to protect her. But Hwon fights back, refusing the request: “When I was a prince, you said that you would’ve protected her… that you would’ve staked everything, your life, to protect her.”

Hwon asks if this is really the way to protect Wol—would she truly be safe by his side? Well listen, she’s safest away from both y’all, but I’m not sure you’re one to argue that she’s safer by YOUR side. Just sayin’.

Yang-myung storms out of the palace, burning up with anger. He thinks to himself: “You who grasps so easily in your hand everything I’ve tried to have, everyone I’ve ever wanted… If you won’t grant me this one request…” The screen goes white before we hear the rest of his thought.

Hwon sighs to Woon, wondering if he was cruel to his hyung. “Woon-ah, I no longer want to lose the people precious to me.”

He says with a heavy heart that now Yang-myung isn’t safe anymore—just as they tried to use Wol to attack him, now they’ll use his illicit love affair with her to kill him. And he says the worst part is, the one who will suffer the most is Wol.

COMMENTS

Okay, so we knew it was coming, and yeah, noble idiocy is the name of the game in a drama like this. But it was far from the smoothest execution around, because I couldn’t help but feel that it came a little too soon. The minute-by-minute is certainly better now that the stakes are raised and everything has big dramatic consequence. I do like that we’re going somewhere with the plot in that department.

But the thing that I find a little hard to reconcile is the fact that the political stakes are now up at 10, but the love affair has yet to become an actual love affair. It’s true that to keep Wol in noble sacrifice territory, you want to keep her free and clear of the crime, sure. But it’d be more of a dramatic push-and-pull if she actually DID have a love affair with the king. And I don’t mean just sex, but they’re barely in the flirting/denial stage with each other, except now it’s suddenly life or death. It feels a little like we skipped the crucial steps, yunno, like when two lovers realize their feelings and declare them to each other?

If their relationship had come to a point where they were declaring their undying secret love, this merry-go-round of noble sacrifice would have a little more weight. In some ways Yang-myung actually has the upper hand in this scenario, because not only has he declared his feelings for Wol and not ghost-of-Yeon-woo, but he acts on them.

The problem right now is that Wol doesn’t think she’s allowed to love either man, but is willing to die for them both. That’s tragic and all, but it doesn’t get me in the heart. Because if she’s not going to save herself, and fight for love, then why am I rooting for her? I’d feel differently if she were madly in love with Hwon and willing to sacrifice that love due to the impossibility of their positions. That I get. But right now she’s acting out of a sense of duty to what the king is, not who Hwon is.

I don’t think it’s a leap to say that they love each other. I don’t need to be told that in words to know. But the way the drama has unfolded makes us rely on the love of teenagers to carry the dramatic consequence of their actions as adults… and that’s starting to buckle under the weight of all the noble sacrifice. I feel like it just needs a push to anchor the love in something real and in the present, to make me feel like it’s the kind of love I’d go to the gallows for. I’m not opposed to all noble sacrifice, because if it’s done right, I’m right there with you, bleeding heart and all. Make me want it, Show, or else you risk taking your characters to the brink but leaving us behind.

Nyeh… Forewarned.. explicit rant.
I really just want him to find out by tomorrows episode.. Is that too much to ask for? I would hate it if they crammed everything in the last few episodes where he finds out then. I just think it would be such a waste of potential conflict.. &plus there would be much more time for us viewers to enjoy just seeing how their relationship plays out after he actually knows she’s yeon woo.. They need to keep it going! I am getting a bit impatient..
Personally I feel like he should have just found out when he compared the letter. And then confirmed it by going on a rampage and FINDING THE DANG HAIRPIN. Is that idea a bit crazy? Idunno, I am desperate for anything at this point. Now that’s where the fun begins. At least then the conflicts that arise won’t seem to be teasing us at the end and then the next week we find out all that hype was really for nothing. The beginning of the episodes are somewhat disappointing…it prepares you for not that great of a bang that the previous eps usually end with..
Perhaps being in the palace all the time prevents all the fun.. cause when they leave that’s when I really do enjoy the scenes.

It seems like yeon woo always has to constantly freaking pay for things she didn’t do! She’s not even a real shaman for Christ’s sake.. yet she always ends up being tortured..
It’s like a repetitive cycle…the conflicts just really seem like its revolving around the same push and pull of does he know? Does he not? Does he? NOPE, he doesn’t. Almoooost thereeee!
Come on.. must this conflict drag for majority of the show? Not to mention…
I don’t want to consummate with the queen. Fine. I’ll consummate. Oh wait just kidding.. fate (more like magic) wasn’t on our side.. It’s the dang nobody shaman to blame, let’s throw her to the torture chair… the writer need to up their game!
I mean even the first time she was sent to be tortured I thought it was ridiculous.. she was only doing her job, and ended up hurt anyways. Am I being too harsh? I really loved this drama in the childhood portions because it was so blissful and heartfelt… and I kept quiet and just sat back and enjoyed it even when the drama didn’t live up to the ratings after the children grew up in the story..
I say he finds out NOW and the writer throws in some sitting-on-the-edge-dying-to-see-next-episode conflicts .. like how I felt watching the princess’s man. Even though it revolved so much around the main couple’s love, there was always something different and fascinating about each obstacle they encountered…like jb said, you wanted to root for them not because you’re supposed to but because you genuinely felt that way about their love, which felt so real.
And can we get some mother-daughter scenes as well? The mother doesn’t have to find out now but it would be nice if they atleast saw each other or met.. It’s fair to say.. since it’s past the half-way mark of the drama..
Quit testing out the waters already, and dive into the deep end! Show, I am yelling at you because of my love for you, and out of the kindness of my heart. And I know you have the potential.. or had.. to make it work!
Man,show.. I want you to be the drama that deserves the ratings. Ironically, you probably just need some ‘magic’ with your conflicts.. You may still be able to win my heart at the end… if you dare take risks!

gahh i’m feeling equally frustrated with how the drama is developing.. I’ve been waiting for MORE interactions and more revelations.. and not just a repetition of what happened last episode. I also want more Seol.. i feel like she should be used more.. not just thrown into the scene as one of wol’s “posse” but an actual character with her story. She’s tough, she’s loyal and she knows the truth…I wish she had more scenes.. I was curious how the whole seol-yeom-woon? thing would turn out.. and other than that little scene with her checking up on yeom and fighting with woon.. she wasnt used again.. such a waste of character.

Agreed, I have to say I enjoyed the first chunk of the drama so much more than where this is leading…could be partly in due to the child actors who brought the characters alive…and by each passing episode the current actors seem not to live up to the magical world those younger actors had created amongst themselves…

One thing that still bothers me and its veryyy minor, but drives me crazy because its such an annoying casting error…but why not cover Ha Ga In’s birthmark on her nose? I mean, the child actress didn’t have one…7 years later, shes got this on her nose!? lol sorry, maybe its my dislike for Ha Ga In’s acting that’s bringing out little grievances

even though she worked those tears in this episodes, i was somehow not very captivated..
maybe it’s her facial expressions..
perhaps if she had distorted her face a bit more.. it might have been more chilling.
she is improving..tho.. nonethless..

I dont mind the birthmark/mole.. whether they cover it up or not.. doesnt matter to me. The thing about han ga in.. she reminds me so much of the Z:ea guy from killer girl k.. It used to be “oh he looks like han ga in”.. but now every time I see her on screen I cant help but see the resemblance right away which distracts me.

oh.. and thank goodness they didnt add the mole to the younger version.. would be too easy to figure out wol and yeonwoo thing if they had the same beauty mark. LOL

4.1.1.4 TwinklesFebruary 15th, 2012 at 10:53 PM

Totally agree with u, i dont understand what people see in her-dont think shes a great actress at all. She is just emotionless.

I’m joining in the rant! Oh jeez, will something interesting, unexpected, or meaningful happen already? For a drama about the king of Joseon having a love affair with a shaman, this is getting so trite and Disneyish.

I really did enjoy this drama in the childhood portions, but now it seems like the adults are just joining in the same Love Triangle and Conspiracy Round 2, without getting any more complex. It doesn’t help that Kim Soo Hyun is trampling all over Han Ga In like a rhinoceros (not that she’s bad, but she’s acting at the level of the script, while he’s running what’s now a one-man show). Give me some Seol/Yeom, some stakes, some smart decisions, something different from the previous 12 episodes.

So this is my thing: there’s so much Mystical-Shaman-Intervention going on in this show…why the hell can’t the *good guy/gal* shamans lay down some serious “Clouds of Doom” on the evil-baddies?

I mean seriously…NokYoung & her male counterpoint are totally *skilled* when it comes to death-voodoo-streams-of-fire-and-smoke ~ ~~

…why aren’t they using them (OFTEN) on the villains?
If the current secret..ie. murder of the chosen Princess/future Queen — can be kept for 8 (!) years….why would they fear getting caught, say, causing Minister Yoon to choke on a chicken leg? They could use the consummation chicken —-presumably it’s still around.

What kinda shaman show is this anyways? I’m losing my patience! USE THAT DANG CHICKEN FOR PETE’S SAKE! Just unleash that blasted chicken and let it RIP! Witness the fury of a possessed consummation chicken hell-bent on revenge!

I feel that this drama had such a rich and promising beginning, but it’s not delivering right. Side characters like Jangshil, Princess Minhwa (I think that’s her name), even Yeom, Seol are pretty much forgotten. They’re all in the background, and while in the beginning they all had depth, I don’t think that it exists anymore. The people are pretty much just background now. The only tiny development that I saw in Minhwa was when she looked slightly flustered when Wol’s mom was talking about Yeon-woo (and how tall she would be).

This drama establishes more than one love triangle/rectangle, but I don’t feel anything. (and the other one is probably pure forgotten. Minhwa-Yeom-Seol? I don’t see it). I would be satisfied (I guess) if the main love triangle (polygon) was moving (heart-wrenching) and brilliantly (dramatically too) well done, but even that’s not moving me. And THIS is supposed to get me to love this drama? I feel zero chemistry.

I think, in terms of math, it works this way: KSH’s giving all he’s got 100, while I feel that Yang-myung’s not really moving me (*sob, sorry JIW. Your character is so wasted here. Please star your own drama soon! And for the sake of math because I can’t do advanced math) 0, and Wol…-100. I don’t mean that harshly it’s just I don’t really get her acting. Well at least I don’t think it’s moving. And she really needs to step it up a notch. KSH and (sorta) JIW are just emoting so much that HGI needs to at least be on par with them for me to be happy. 100+0+(-100) = 0. please forgive me for using math…! But honestly, I feel bad for KSH for having to do all the emoting. JIW does some too but it feels like the brothers are emoting to no one. Like thin air, or something. They should just start emoting to each other, hee. (I wish.)

I may be harsh but the list of wasted characters for me goes like this: Yang-myung, Bo-kyung, Min-hwa, Yeom, Wol, Seol. I didn’t include Jang-shil because I don’t think she was supposed to have such a big role (she wasn’t at the press conference, I believe?) Yang-myung, I’ve already ranted before about…the character description is just not working here. I don’t see the “playboy” protecting his brother. (in fact I think he’s about to be enemies. No protecting there, huh?) I just see a lovesick puppy. I’m not fond of Bo-kyung, but really, even her evil-ness isn’t delivering (for the past few episodes, not this one. I’m just ranting). She’s just there whining/complaining/being bitter. And that’s it, she’s not advancing in her evil-ness. I don’t even find her that hateful (like I DO, but not really). Min-hwa and Yeom, their development? 0. Yeom finding out that Min-hwa (not on purpose-ly/not really but he should still know) had a hand in Yeon-woo’s death? None. And the amount of screentime (like time to develop, not literally since she’s in the background) Seol has? Yikes. Not much I’m afraid. And Wol, well truthfully I think HGI is trying too hard to be youthful. The wide-eyed I-don’t-know-anything-I’m-so-innocent thing is really bugging me. It seems like Wol’s character is completely lost, and there’s no more of the feisty, smart girl I saw in the earlier episodes. Wasted. (Plus, she’s pretty but she looks her age. Seriously.)

PLEASE in the last few episodes at least develop the other characters! They have so much background but it’s not being used as a plot devise or whatnot! I feel that it’s so wasted because the characters seem so rich and complex, but now almost all of them seem really flat. Just there. Like wallflowers or something. And the main love triangle. If the drama’s main focus is gonna be that love triangle, please at least make us FEEL for some of the characters. I think the story’s also kind of abrupt. At least we’re moving along the plot (finally)?

Tell me about it kbap.
where the heck did all our wonderful side characters go?
they all seemed so promising.. i was hoping to grow with them as they continued on their journey.
Apparently, we’re only gonna grow with ‘the king refuses to have sex with his queen!’

haha, I love your comment! Yeah, I guess this story is just gonna stem from the king refusing to sleep with the queen. *sigh. And personally I think in some other dimension our side characters are acting in such a wonderful and complex (and thrilling! yay!) drama when they return they’re just all too tired to give it their all. And plus the story’s a little ridiculous. (Maybe they even asked for less screen-time so they could act like 120% in that other dimension-drama. Damn. Now I wish I over there.)

I hear ya, sister. I know this sounds harsh but at this rate, KSH might as well act opposite a tree or something. At least I will not expect anything from an inanimate object and can just pretend that there’s someone there with KSH doing all the emoting.

As it is, HGI is not responding to him at all. Or if she does, it totally doesn’t translate onscreen. Its like she’s in a different dimension altogether and not connecting with her partner.

P.S. Love the math, by the way! And agree with you, someone’s gotta up the numbers.

Thanks! I was worried the math wouldn’t work out too well (though I’m Asian, Math hates me. I tried to be its friend, but it took my pie and slammed it in my face). And yes, someone’s got to up the numbers. Even I think so. And I’m horrible at math. (I’m so bad at it I could cry. But I still try. And fail. So I turn to dramas for comfort lol).

Sometimes I wonder if the reason why they prolong the memory loss plot is because of HGI sub-par acting. Layered/in-depth acting would be needed in order to portray a character who knows her tragic past but pretends not to. You need to be emotionless, but at the same time brimming with pain (Kim Min Seo’s portrayal of the Queen as an example). I’m sorry if I’m being to hard on her, but I seriously can’t feel portrayal.

I REALLY like the sis…mance? Ha. Seol is really wasted!!! I DID want to see what would go on with the side characters, since they were so compelling in and of themselves. Don’t get me started on Seol-Yeom-Woon(AH!!!)

I was really excited and felt that the show had so much awesome potential until the last three very repetitive episodes where it’s just…stalling. I’m keeping the faith a little longer though, that we quit wasting screen time and get some relationship development…for all parties. I REALLY want to care..so make me, show!

I KNOW we’re all tired of hearing Princess’ Man comparisons, but I really liked how they handled their characters there, and the organic GROWTH/feel of really, believable LOVE/envy/hurt/betrayal for all parties. Especially since, like this one, it was marketed as a love story.

I made the mistake of FINALLY watching PM right now….and it just makes me dislike the recent development (or lack thereof) in tMEtS in comparison. PM, I CARE SO MUCH, even side chars. TMETS? I used to and just really want to again.

Also, I agree with someone above…I think Han Ga In is acting at the level of the script, while KSH is being forced to carry the weight of the show now due to the nature of our so-called “conflict”, so he’s overshadowing. She’s just okay, while he’s being allowed to EMOTE LIKE A DEMON…her character is written that way, so perfect and ugh…she hasn’t been given any scenes or lines to come off as the feisty girl she was…also…there was a flicker when she’s outside the palace, like when she was saving that kid…but typically, nope.

the thing is, guys, we can’t un-cast HGI now. She’s here. We’re stuck with her, much like when I was stuck with her in Bad Guy. So there’s no point in continuing to moan about it. Sure, someone else might’ve squeezed a little more out of this terrible writing, but it wouldn’t have been too much more, think about it.

Again, this DAMN brother of his is getting on my last nerves. He is constantly talking about what he did and did not have. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. If anything he have more than the King has. This episode is a prime example of why the King can not have an heir why it is so horrible to be married to that big teeth wench. He is the King and his father in law had more power over him. The brother just thinks he knows everything. That he “suffering”. I swear it is getting to the point i want to slap the hell out of him to make him come to his senses.

“You who grasps so easily in your hand everything I’ve tried to have, everyone I’ve ever wanted… If you won’t grant me this one request…” Seriously Yang-myung, serously. What makes you think he has everything. HE DON’T. His life and Wol’s parents life went straight to hell after what happened. He can do whatever he wants but yet he rather hold on to the pass and think that his life is bad. Well i got news for you its not asshole. The King doesn’t not have a free will. The King does not get to live his life the way his wants to. The king does not get to choose who he wants to spend the rest of his life with, the king does not have people who is surrounded by him everyday that he can trust or support, the king can’t follow his own orders, the king doesn’t get the chance to run away or go on trips like you, the king does not have the opportunity to see whomever he pleases, i can go on for days hell years. I mean YM has everything in the world he has a great ass life yet ONLY HE doesn’t see it.

And don’t get me started on that ugly ass sister of his. She did the same thing that everybody else did in that palace. She knew what was going on and what happen but kept quiet for what because she wanted to marry her brother!?! Everybody keep saying that “she is a comic relief” well she is not! She’s a back stabbing conniving cunt and is the same as her fugly ass grandmother and big teeth sister in law and rat face father in law.

Oh sigh. Sometimes I think writers forget to do their work when ratings shoot up straight into the sky (and in this case waaaaaaaaaay too early).
But still, I’ll be sticking around to watch for my beloved JIW!
(P.S. I know this is irreverent but Lee Jun-ki got discharged from army! Anyone else excited? I’m uber excited b/c he’s my first celebrity-crush (and still is lol) and I thank him in My Girl for getting me hooked onto dramas )

He's a good actor, I first saw him in Iljimae, then in Time of Dog and Wolf. I haven't seen My Girl. Wasn't he a second jilted lead as my sister and I call them?

Also, have you seen that he was supposed to be the hero in Faith (Saeguk-medical-comedy fusion), but left for the army, and they're still looking for a hero? I REALLY hope they get him back so we can see him soon in something.

I nearly squealed hearing that Faith still does not have a hero! (LJK please!! be in that drama! ) And if he doesn’t he really does need a project soon. That preferably could be released next month at latest. Mostly to satisfy my need of Junki-dom. lol.

And yes, he was that poor second lead. My heart broke for him in My Girl. I was practically gnashing my teeth at the main lead (though I learned to like him now. Yep.) He was so pretty/awesome I just had to Google him up, and that led to a marathon for Iljimae, and I think a year (?) or so later I watched Time Between Dog and Wolf. Not the greatest drama but I LOVED it. It was so fun to watch Haven’t watched Hero yet though. On my ever-growing list of dramas *sigh. Yay LJK fans! *high-fives

“You’re getting in each other’s idiot paths!” Bwahahahahahaha! GF, you should copyright this!

Okay, it’s probably just me but I really really liked this episode. I know we’re still in the same status quo spinning teacups (in addition to the noble idiocy merry-go-round harhar) we’ve been for the past 3 or 4 episodes: Wol still has amnesia, Hwon still doesn’t know she’s Yeonwoo, Yangmyung’s still obsessed about her, Bokyung still can’t get any, I still want to punch Minister Yoon’s face when he appears on screen but DUDE, how much do I ♥ Wol in this episode? She basically manages to save the lives/reputations of a KING (by not lying that she seduced him) and a PRINCE (by lying that she did seduce him), all while tied to a chair and getting tortured half to death. That is badass. It was the first time I saw a little glimpse of the old Yeonwoo in her. I got so excited and started thinking, “wait til she remembers she’s Yeonwoo and becomes Queen. Ooh, these fugly ministers are gonna get their asses handed back to them on a plate…yesss”.

And my bets were totally off on the supernatural cockblock. I was seriously gunning for the earthquake, it never occurred to me that a spell might be more, you know, practical. Lol.

Maybe I’m just in a really good mood because I’m still a bit hungover from that awesome awesome SUFBB episode the other night but I’m really looking forward to the next episode. I’m pretty sure no preview means something epic is about to go down, yeah?

I knew the King and Queen weren’t gonna happen, but I was getting to the point where I wished they would actually do it. It seems like the writer’s sabotaging her own script by having the king refuse to sleep with the queen – I mean, he’s very much a king and married and knows it. What’s he planning to do with Wol? Make her a concubine? Short of Bo-Kyung dying or her clan being pushed out of power, I don’t see Wol becoming queen; not that she’s queen material anyway. Too bad some of Nok-young’s political sharpness didn’t rub off on her. And I say this wanted the King and Wol to get a love affair, I really do, but even after 12 episodes nothing has happened yet. Plus Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Min Seo are actually acting at the same level, which makes their interactions really taut.

I was also one of those people wishing all that hate sex did happen because seriously, what a waste of sexual tension. However, I’ve found that if I pretend that Kim Soo Hyun and Han Ga In have chemistry and that Hwon and Wol have been secretly pawing at each other when Woon wasn’t looking, I enjoy the episode a hell of a lot more. Hell, I think I’m just really easy to please.

Ugh, I think they don’t want them to have sex because it’ll ruin the innocent “we’re both virgins and in love!” thing. I don’t even know where that came from but I’ve definitely heard of it before.
I dunno why but if they did just do it (God chances are she won’t even get pregnant) that’d put a lot more…I dunno actually, spice things up a bit? And he’s the KING, (this sounds awkward) but he’s supposed to…yunno, yeah. Make babies. It’s practically his duty (as Grandma has stated quite clearly in this drama).
Also, I think they won’t make Wol a concubine, and they don’t want to brand her as “adulteress” so they just try to make it work by going like, “Well, yeah, technically he’s married, but they didn’t have sex yet so technically this marriage doesn’t really count if you know what I mean and like he doesn’t like her anyways! Therefore this love relationship works. Without having to cheat.”
Just my two cents. I may be wrong, but I think the drama should’ve just left that part out if they were gonna have him faint anyways. It seems a little like a waste of time.

Yeah! I thought for a moment that she did figure it out thats why she so strongly want to save Hwon n Yang Myung… alas no.. she’s still being her noble self.. which is frustrating just as GF mentioned, its not strong enough of a reason to drive all her actions, it doesn’t move me! c’mon show! u can do better!

This shows is just adding too much stuff randomly…well not entirely random, but it really needs to finish one thing first before it hits another conflicts. Like girlfriday said, it really needs to show us more romance as in “I cannot live without you” kind of romance before they move to the life and death part. As of now, things just seem to be thowing at us. And Really, wol has suffered too much!

I think the writers have figured out that the romance isn’t working because there is zero chemistry between the main leads, so now they’re doing plans B and C:

Will the King sleep with his Queen?
Will the King and the Prince go against each other?

The problem with this, as GF eloquently puts it, is that we are not invested in the romance so the fact that Hwon is now willing to risk his neck for Wol is definitely premature. Especially since they haven’t even moved beyond Shaman/King stage. And now…this?

The way I see it, Wol/HGI is not connecting with either of the leads and as a viewer I’m also not connected with her the way I was rooting for Yeon Woo before. I think the writers are now putting her in a position where the audience will feel sorry for her, thus roping us all in again. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t make sense and that torture scene was just so unnecessary.

And seriously, will this people really blame the shamans for everything? Its so absurd.

Show, I gave you a chance. But six episodes in and we’re still not going anywhere. I think its time to jump ship. Sigh. I weep for what could have been.

hey @anya – thanks for your comments …. I wrote basically the same opinion as yours over at Soompi last night ~an honest statement about how I felt the *torture of Wol* was a lame attempt to garner viewer sympathy for a lead actress who is not connecting with her lead actor.

I got FLAMED…in all RED CAPS…that “I was entitled to my opinion”….blah, blah…..hahahahaha.

Seriously….so much Minister Yoon being a smirking, monkey-sideburns evil torturer ~really? How did that move the plot forward? We KNOW he’s a bastard, willing to kill….why not spend that screen time fleshing out …say…Janshil’s psychic B-BAM! …or maybe Minhwa confessing to the Mom-in-Law….anything…anything

(on knees begging show ~)

p.s. As others have mentioned KSH is delivering this performance like his life depended on it….would be nice if others stepped-UP.

How could the actors step-up when the script was written interestingly for the KING only.

What is yang myung,s character ? If it is written as a rebellious than it would be more interesting and also the rest of supporting actors no strong charcters written to carry their “weight” except TtHE the KING THE KING THE KING !!!

@ilikemangps, u’ve juz laid out the whole thing I’ve been feeling out. It’s true. They need to update their story line, the angst’s not strong and interesting enuf and to be honest, the romance of the youngsters r actually more fun and heartbreaking to watch. It’s actually not living up to its ratings, this drama, which is kinda upsetting….

Excellent analysis, although I’m still finding it hard to suspend disbelief that a gal would pick broken femurs over running away with hottie in a hanbok Yang Myung. Like the honey badger, YM is badass and a man of action. Too bad this “playboy” only has eyes for one girl in all the land.

Sigh, I once ranted long and hard about how his character was “flat”…Or at least how the drama didn’t deliver what the character description had…*sigh. (disappoint, Drama. Please get better and awesomer.)

I’m still liking this drama much but this episode didn’t do much for me–was dragging.
Wol gets torture, King can’t do anything, baddies all happy and Nok Young may be wrong about keeping the right moon beside the sun? Geez….
Let’s hope the next episode does better in tying the loose ends and push the plot forward—Wol get’s knock in the head and remembers who she is—or King finds out she’s his bride from 8 years ago–because I can’t see them having some sort of affair with what’s going on in this episode unless something dramatic changes.

Agreed…the characters actions really don’t make any sense…..Wol’s character, Ha Ga In’s acting…everything is just getting worse by the day….I don’t really understand her motives anymore..one day she was ready to leave the palace cause the King wanted her, now she’s ready to stay and take the blame….

And there is absolutely no love or chemistry between these leads….I really can’t connect with either of the two, nor see this “intense” love story they’re trying to portray….
Personally, Kim Soo Hyuns baby face paired with the Ha Ga In just makes it super weird/akward…

I was disappointed when the king couldn’t help Wol this second time around, and what a waste of YM’s character. Are they going for 30eps? Because it looks like they stalled the story somehow. I hope the story will go somewhere fast, like the king fights back to protect his throne ,not just his love, from the evil grandma.

Also, am I missing something? Because I don’t get why grandma forced her power over the previous and the present king. She wants the throne or what? Or just power to control? Why don’t they blame the queen that when she was near, the king fell sick? Cuz maybe she was born with the killer star to go after the king’s life, everybody seemed to easily come up with their own story, why not this one then?

BUT. . . last week Hwon was screaming at her to not leave his side until he figures out the feelings he has for her and now all of a sudden in the time it took Hwon to pass out on top of Bo Kyung they are completely in love . . .
I'm sorry but I kind of don't buy it. I feel like it took them 7 episodes just to figure out that they feel an attachment to each other and now within 10 minutes they're already drowning in "their love" before either of them admits that anything is there.

I think one of the things in this drama that bothers me is that Hwon has NO political allies. I mean in the Princess' Man and Queen Seon Deok at least allegiances are split so there's back up on both ends. However it feels like it's Hwon vs everyone in the palace.
To put it bluntly, he's a King with no power since there's no one who can make a difference on his side and since it's obvious who his weaknesses are it's easy to target him. Then there's the problem that everyone who's against him can't dethrone him since there's no one of royal blood to replace him.
So overall, they're all at a standstill.

When is she going to get her memory back???
I had hoped it would've been revealed by now. It's also about time everyone who knew what happened 8 years ago opened their mouths (ie: Nok Young, Seol, and Min Hwa), they owe Hwon and Wol at least that much.

It’s weird, but I’ve noticed the less stuff that really happens – and I mean important stuff people – in an episode, the shorter the recap. Episode 13…. So that leaves us with 7 episodes to go, and nothing much happening on the love front. That…… sucks.

I hope not! NO extension please! eeeeek! Most show’s that get extended tend to have boring episodes towards the end and does not end with a Bang. I’ve seen quite a few that went with a blah… Why oh why couldn’t they have kept the pace like the earlier episodes? Is the writer out of ideas? doesn’t know where the story is going? cuz if that’s the case…..this just suks. But I’ll wait and see until the end.

*sigh, I heard from soompi Moon/Sun has been granted a four-episode extension. I usually don’t like extensions but at the pace this drama is going (quite a few episodes per problem) it might as well do this drama good. Can’t believe I just said that lol. Ummm I still don’t like the idea of the extension, but I hope this drama makes it work.
(It’s scary how much love I still have for this drama despite how much ranting, accusing, complaining, and sounding like I hate this drama I’ve been doing lately. It’s JIW love, I swear.)

I have downloaded the series until episode 10 (but only watched it until episode 3) while continuing to read the recaps.
honestly, I don’t feel the need to continue watching this drama anymore. Nothing really happens, the characters are too one-dimensional, and I don’t believe we have enough time to resolve everything smoothly with only 7 episodes left.
Maybe the writer intend to extend the drama? so that’s why the plot feels dragged right now?
I don’t know *shrug

I feel like ranting just by reading the recaps alone! Thank god I gave this up at ~ep 9 or 10. Shut Up: Flower Boy Band all the way. Thanks JB and GF for enduring this for the rest of us. Kudos to you guys. If we ever meet in person, the drinks are on me.

i guess the noble stuff has to happen bec it’s a kdrama; h/e it should have happened earlier. I agree. They haven’t admitted that they love each other, or W hasn’t, and now H has to save her?

Is it only me, but Seol seems like a useless character? She’s done nothing for her bff. She doesn’t sword fight. She doesn’t slip the truth like Jan Shil did. She doesn’t seem to care about YW at all. I mean she cares abt her, but she doesn’t really care either way – that going into the king’s chamber (is dangerous) and will make Wol be discovered that YW is not dead, or that there’s a solid reason why the king is so stuck on Wol. She just always cries, ‘someone else go save her’. Whereas Jan Shil wants things in order and is proactive. Seol just stands around and reacts to thesituation. If they have been bffs for that long, you’d think Seoul would have greater influence in W’s life. Just like Yeom has in Hwon even though he doesn’t serve him anymore.

I think it’s more how Seol is written as a character. Heck, all the other side characters (Seol, Yeom, JangShil, Minhwa) basically pop in and out around the main characters’ angsting. They had really interesting potential storylines too, but I guess the writer is just going to churn out whatever’s driving the ratings up.

I totally see a wasted potential storyline for MinHwa. Sigh there is so much that can be explored from her as a kid knowing and witnessing what happened to YW. Until now only in this episode that we get to see her uncomfortable feeling when YW’s mum mentioned YW. Sigh sigh.

I’m a bit disappointed they haven’t really done anything with the brothers’ relationship. I can’t really see much affection there, at least not on Yang-myung’s part (e.g., his bro keeps collapsing and he doesn’t seem particularly bothered), and I was hoping for more of a bond, if only because it makes the love triangle more interesting. But then again, I dislike love triangles in general so maybe I’m watching the wrong show!

I’ve really tried to warm up to Han Ga In but…I just can’t. I think she is improving, but she’s never convinced me as an actress. She has this sort of default wide-eyed expression which bugs.

OT, but a question I’ve been meaning to ask for a while: I’ve lost count of the number of times in k-dramas I’ve seen characters hit each other round the head. Sometimes it’s comedic, sometimes not – I remember watching OBGYN and there was a scene where a little girl was crying cos her mum was dying or something and her grandma, who was not in any way a villain, thwacked her round the head pretty damn hard and no-one batted an eye. So my question is: is that normal? Like, is it acceptable behaviour in real life? I still find it very off-putting on tv, even when it’s used comedically, so this really baffles me!

Korean actors seem to take a lot of blows to the head..whether or not that’s a cultural truism, I’m not in a position to say ~

equally repugnant, in western thought, is the proliferation of wrist grabbing & dragging that is often portrayed as the ultimate expression of “I like you a lot, but I’m an immature douchebag…so this is my skill set.”

Oh GOD the wrist-grabbing/dragging! Don’t even get me started on that! I think that’s probably one of the reasons I very rarely get invested in k-drama romances. There’s a lot of things I love about k-dramas – the scores, cinematography and the preponderance of historical dramas to name a few – but romances are definitely not on that list.

Again, clearly I’m watching the wrong show, but I’m also not a fan of the childhood romance reunited trope – a reciprocated crush when you’re a kiddy does not = a match made in heaven. Apparently people never grow up and change. It’s one thing to fall in love with the older version on their own merits, but shows rarely bother to do that. Not to mention I find it impossible to root for Yang-myung to ‘get the girl’ because his significantly older teen crushing on little girl YW creeped me out too much! I don’t know how much older he’s meant to be in the show but the actor age difference is something like 18 to her 12 which…ew.

Phew, sorry! Went a bit off-topic there – apparently I have a lot of feelings about this!

@Lotte – imma go way out on a limb ~and might get bashed for it….but what the hey~

Being American….dating…is just that. a Date.

“do we like each other? do we have common interests”

from what I can tell from Asian dramas in general….romance & dating are almost exclusively precursors to …..marriage.

there seems to be no *in-between*……yes, it’s a broad-brush I’m stroking here, but my round-about-point is…if your culture considers dating/even childhood crushes to be SIGNIFICANT, in a long term way, then that GRAY-AREA of *do we even LIKE each other?* that western dating represents…..does NOT exist in this realm.

Thank-you so much. Been checking the site several times waiting for this recap! Appreciate it! I feel the same way as you that the drama is becoming..EH. I mean its pretty good and everything, but I hate how WOL doesn’t love the King without his crown & her sense of duty and blah. blah. blah. I want to root for her too, but what is she doing to make me root for her if she is just going to sacrifice for nothing.. Show please get better! ^^

“Because if she’s not going to save herself, and fight for love, then why am I rooting for her?” As I watched this episode this thought summed it up. I feel the same way you do, where you can get behind sacrifice for the sake of love, but duty come on then why do I want you win. Maybe it is our day and age but I would be willing to take a bullet for love but out of duty and in two different cases that just gets me. I find self sacrifice in this case makes me want to root for Bo Kyung because at least she is fighting and scheming for what she wants. Lets see what the next episode brings.

I dislike where this drama is going so much, I refuse to watch it and have a really hard time reading the recaps. Ick. I think it mostly has to do with the character development. Yes, the children were good, but even then the characters fell flat. I loved Yang Myung’s character but Yeon Woo felt “too perfect”. There was no real depth to her besides her “intelligence”/wisdom. BUT, even then, I feel like it doesn’t add any depth to her character. In Princess’s Man the main girl had intelligence and thus a feisty character because she knew, as a woman, she was being short changed. Idk, like because she had knowledge she had the insight to have that anger..DEPTH. CHARACTERR! gosh. Princess’s Man was 100x a better drama than this one. AND, I know that they are essentially different types of sageuk dramas, but still. I can’t excuse the lack of thought in this drama’s script etc. ickickick

ALSO, the evil people. In Princess’s Man, no “evil” person was actually evil. You saw how they could be good fathers, or people who cared about people. It was just that they had ambitions that were logical but not reasonably sound (convoluted reasoning). Suyang was greedy, but you did see glimmers of humanity in him. sigh. I’m only going to read the recaps of this drama. NEVER EVER WATCHING IT! I dislike the script sooo muchhhh.